The King and I
by Kassandra85
Summary: Billa Baggins leaves the Shire for Erebor to become the tutor of the royal family. In Erebor she realises that even the smallest can change the faith of the world. Hobbit AU. No dragon and no quest. Only dwarves, Hobbits and wizards. Thorin/fem. Bilbo.
1. Chapter 1

**_Hobbit AU. The dragon never came, the quest never happened, everybody lives. I own nothing._**

**_Just read...and enjoy :)_**

_It was the last time that my father held the woman he loved in his arms. The last time that their eyes met with all the love and respect they held for each other. The last time the breath of the one touched the others face. Their love changed a king and his kingdom. It also changed me._

The Shire

In front of a round green door a Hobbit lass and her fauntling were gazing towards the horizon where the sun was rising, banishing the dark of the night. Down in Hobbiton, mist clouded the fields and meadows and humidity filled the air. It had rained at night and the ground felt cold against the Hobbit´s feet.

Billa Baggins and her son Frodo were turning their backs on Bag End with heavy hearts. This hole in the ground - no nasty hole filled with filth - their hobbit hole had been their warm and safe haven for as long as both could remember. But now, after the death of Billas husband Bodo, their home was no haven anymore. It was a dark hole full of haunting memories. Billa, half a Took and half a Baggins, felt that nothing was keeping her in Hobbiton anymore. Her adventurous soul clouded her mind and filled her body. Her son, Frodo, who had inherited her Tookish blood stood by his mothers side as they glanced back at the green door one last time. They packed their few belongings onto the cart which was pulled by two ponies and sat down on it. Then they hit the road towards the north.

Billa and Frodo arrived at the Lonely Mountain one year later. The journey had been hard and many unexpected things had happened, but Billa did not stray. Gandalf the Grey, an old friend of her late mother Belladonna, had asked her to come to Erebor, the seventh kingdom of dwarves in the north. Durins Folk inhabited the mountain full of riches and wealth and stood against any peril which had tried to invade Middle Earth from the north and east. But the dwarves had lived seclucively for hundreds of years and the diplomatic bonds to them and the elves and men had broken. Gandalf knew that the free folk of Middle Earth could only hold their ground if they were united. As Billa asked Gandalf against whom the free people of Middle Earth had to stand their ground the wizard had stayed silent, much to Billas annoyance. But now she focused on her assignment.

Billa Baggins had been called to Erebor to tutor the family of the king in Westron and the way of life of the people of the West. Erebor was about to reenter the political stage of Middle Earth and preparing them was Billas duty. The Hobbit lass held her breath as she looked upon the Lonely Mountain for the first time. The mountain was impressive and reached the clouds with its whitened top. The city of Dale lay behind them, the last city of men within the borders of the northern kingdoms of men. Now, Billa and her son had reached dwarven territory. The huge and massive gate of Erebor was carved out of the mountains stone and shone in a dark green. Two dwarves carved out of stone guarded the gate left and right and Billa looked upon them in awe. She had never seen dwarves before, but at least the stone dwarves looked quite impressive and stern. Gandalf had told her only little, he had brought her a contract, signed by the king himself and his closest advisor, Balin Fundin, who would await her at the gate that day.

Balin was an old dwarf with a white forked beard and stray white hair. He had friendly eyes and smiled at Billa as she walked forward to greet him. Billa liked him instantly.

'Welcome to Erebor, miss Baggins. Balin, at your service.' the old dwarf bowed deeply.

'Billa Baggins...at yours.' Billa stuttered and bowed back. 'This is my son, Frodo.'

Frodo looked at the dwarf from behind his mothers back and swallowed visibly. But Balin smiled at him, too and walked closer to greet him.

'Young Frodo, I am Balin - at your service.'

Frodo stood there petrified until his mother cleared her throat and looked at him demandingly. 'Frodo Baggins...at your service, master dwarf.'

'I will escort you to your chambers, miss Baggins.' Balin showed them into the mountain. Their cart and their ponies were taken care off and Billa and Frodo followed Balin with wide eyes. Erebor was nothing like they had imagined. Walls of green carved stone and huge pillars supported the dwarven kingdom. The light was golden and warm and reflected from the shining stone. The air was fresh and cold, but everytime they passed one of the mines a warm breeze tussled the hobbits curles. Billas and Frodos chambers lay on the second level, right beneath the royal wing. Billa swallowed as she entered the rooms. They were big and luxurious, but uninviting and decorated scarcely. It was nothing compared to Bag End.

'Are your chambers not to your liking?' Balin asked as he saw Billas expression.

'They are fine, my lord.' Billa quickly reassured him. 'But...is there no window?'

'We are inside of a mountain, lass.' Balin smirked. 'A window would impair our safety. Our ventilation system ensures sufficent fresh air.'

Stunned, Billa nodded. But she would miss the sun on her skin and the smell of freshly cut grass. 'Thank you, master Balin. Please tell me, when does the king permit us an audience? I would like to start with the lessons as soon as I can.'

Balin briefly looked down at his feet and cleared his throat. 'The king has not granted you an audience, yet. He is...preoccupied. I will let you know when you will be granted one. If you need anything, please call me or one of the servants. Have a good day, miss Baggins, young lad.'

'Strange.' Billa worried about Balins worried expression when he talked about the king. But at the moment she had other things on her mind.

'These rooms are depressing.' Frodo complained. 'Everything is green and the furniture is dark. This does not feel like home.'

Billa smiled at her son and took him in his arms. 'We will make it feel like home, sunshine. We will.'

Billa and Frodo spent the next week exploring Erebor and getting to know its inhabitants. The dwarves met them with respect and reservation and Billa understood why the diplomatical bonds had been hard to handle. The dwarves were introverted and their society was strictly classified. The kings head advisor, Balin, explained to Billa how the dwarven society was ordered and Billa listened with big eyes. There was the king who stood above all others in rank and status. His court, the nobles and advisors, as well as his family were the only ones surrounding him and the only ones who did not need to bow when they passed him. Then there was the class of the merchants and miners, the class which ensured the great wealth of the dwarven kingdom. The class of the scientists and healers came right afterwards and last but not least the class of soldiers and mercenaries. The servants did not even habe an own class, they had to fall onto their knees and lower their gaze when the king passed them.

'Under which social class would we fall?' Billa asked Balin and prayed that it was not the last.

'If you were dwarves you would be situated in the class of the scientists and healers. But you are hobbits. There is no class for you, yet.' Balin mused. 'But I beseech you, when you meet the king - bow deeply and do not look at him. Its protocol.'

'Speaking of it - when is our audience?' Billa cocked an eyebrow at the old dwarf. For hobbit standards it was incredibly rude to not greet the guests personally and especially to keep them waiting for so long.

'I have gotten no indication of an audience before the king for you and your son yet, miss Baggins.' Balin sighed. 'Please be patient.'

'How shall I begin the lessons of his family when the king does not grant me an audience? I thought Erebor was eager to take its rightful place in Middle Earth? How so, without any idea of the lifestyle and language of the people of the West?' Billa was irritated. The king under the mountain was a mystery to her.

'The king will see you eventually.' Balin assured her. He did not tell the hobbit lass that the king was sick. Goldsick. He spent half of the day in the treasury and stared at the golden piles surrounding him. His grandfather and his father had succumbed to the goldsickness, but Thorin II Oakenshield had fought it for a long time. Now, at the age of 195, the dwarf had lost the struggle. Balin, who had known Thorin since he was a small dwarfling felt the remorse for the loss of Thorins soul in his heart.

'Is everything alright, master Balin? Is the king not well?' Billa asked the old advisor and frowned worriedly. Balin cursed himself for letting his feelings show so openly and shook his head.

'None of that should concern you, mistress Baggins.' Balin sighed and smiled openly. 'Is there anything else I can do for you?'

'There is one little thing.' Billa said sheepishly as Frodo looked at her expectantly. 'Hobbits have certain eating habbits...very different eating habbits to dwarves. We found the kitchen to be open in the morning, at midday and in the evening...but we actually...need to eat seven times a day.'

'Seven times!' Balin looked both hobbits up and down. 'Where do you put it?'

Billa smiled and blushed. 'We have breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. I understand that your cooks and servants have better things to do than cook for us all day long, but if there was a place where we could get food over the day, that would be perfect.'

Balin nodded and thought about it. 'One of the cooks, master Bombur, his kitchen delivers the food for the king and his court. I will instruct him to have food ready for you during the day. But at night you do sleep?'

'Yes, we do.' Billa chuckled. 'Thank you very much, master Balin!'

'You´re welcome, lass.' Balin bowed and retreated from the hobbits chambers, of course not without noticing the change the chambers. The drapes and courtains had changed from dark colors to bright colors and the furniture was not as dark and uninviting anymore. He saw an armchair and a rocking chair by the fire and remembered seeing them on the cart the hobbits had brought with them. A shelf with many books graced the wall opposite of the bed and a neat desk was placed near the fire for better light. It looked warm and peaceful, an atmosphere which had long been gone from the Lonely Mountain. Maybe inviting the hobbit lass was indeed a good idea.

Two weeks passed and Billa was still not granted an audience with the king. The usually calm and gentle hobbit was furious and stormed towards the throne room. But the king was not there. She decided to follow the kings nobles around until they would lead her to the king and speak to him uninvited. Billa knew that it was rude and impolite, but she had no other choice, she would not stay another day inside of this blasted mountain without a task. She saw Balin disappear behind a pillar, heading down a huge staircase and followed him silently. Frodo followed her, a bad feeling grumbling in his stomach. They soon arrived in front of a sheer endless room shining in golden light. Billa had never seen so much gold in one place. It was more than all the dwarves in this kingdom and probably all other kingdoms would ever be able to spend. Slowly Billa and Frodo descended down the staircase, their hobbit feet stepping lightly and silently.

Billa could hear the king before she saw him. He was giving orders to his guard and Billa could not help but shiver at the cold tone and hoarse deepness of his voice. As she walked around a gold pile she saw him. He was truly majestic and completely different from what she had imagined. Billa had somehow imagined the king under the mountain to be old, well nourished and white haired. But the dwarf standing in the midsts of the gold was athletic and muscular. His hair was black, with only a few streaks of grey and its fell over his shoulders in massive waves. Blue eyes glared in a handsome face and a long and straight nose throned above a dark and trimmed beard. The tip of his beard was braided and fastened with a silver bead, of which some also shone in his hairbraids. His bearing was proud and his aura was powerful. But there was a dark gleam in his eyes which frightened Billa. Nevertheless Billa straightened her shoulders and stepped into the light from behind the gold. Her chin held high she walked towards the king determinately. Balin saw her first and his eyes widened in shock. Before he could react the king turned around and froze.


	2. Chapter 2

**In this story Dis is not Thorins sister, but his first wife. I hope that does not freak anyone out ;)**

'Your majesty.' Billa curtseyed before the king and then stood up straight and looked straight into his eyes.

The kings expression was one of utter shock and fury. 'How dare you?' he growled and Billa needed all her strength of will to keep a straight face and composure. Blue eyes glared at her and made her feel even smaller than she was.

'I apologise, your majesty. But I have been waiting for an audience for three weeks now...' Billa started, but she was interrupted by the furious king.

'I am the king and I decide if and when you get an audience!' Thorin bellowed and Billa jumped, but she was a brave soul and kept her cool. Frodo, who was standing right behind her, yelped and fell onto his knees facing down, like the servants did. If he showed the king the respect and the behaviour awaited from him, maybe the king would let him live. But his mother ignored protocol.

'I understand, your majesty. But I was told that your family needs a tutor and that they shall be taught the language and the way of life of the people of the West.' Billa stated firmly. 'I came here to be their tutor and I would dislike to waste more time and energy which I could invest in their education.'

King Thorin looked her up and down, speechless. This tiny creature dared to speak to him unasked and dared looking him in the eyes while she did so. She neither bowed, nor did she fall to her knees. She had come down here, into his treasury and held her ground. Thorins outrage softened subtly and was replaced by a light feeling of impression. The Hobbit had courage.

'Mistress Baggins.' Billa swallowed as she heard the dwarfking say her name for the first time. 'I am sure that my advisor, Balin, has informed you of our protocol and our way of life. And yet, you come here and barge into an important royal meeting. And you are supposed to be a tutor to my family?'

'I was not aware of the fact that important royal meetings were held in treasuries, your majesty.' Billa answered and heard Balin gasp. 'And since I am here to tutor dwarves in the way of life of the free folk of Middle Earth, let me tell you that keeping people waiting for three weeks and not feeling them welcome is very frowned upon.'

Thorin was torn between tearing the hobbit to pieces and smiling at the bold answer. He looked at Balin, who shrunk under his gaze and made a decision. He already had a punishment in mind.

'I will introduce you to my family and your future students. Follow me.' Thorin smirked as he saw the surprised look on the hobbits lasses face. Balins face was priceless and the smaller hobbit behind the hobbit lass looked up insecurely. 'Stand up, young master hobbit. You seem to be the one with manners out of the both of you.' Thorin remarked and grinned mentally as he heard a quiet huff from Billa.

The two hobbits followed Thorin and Balin through the endless corridors of Erebor until they finally arrived in a wing deep inside of the mountain. As the doors opened Billa froze in awe. In the huge hall with balconies and silver fountains lived the family of the king. As Thorin entered the smaller dwarflings rushed towards him and greeted him excitedly. For the first time Billa saw Thorin smile warmly and it completely changed him. Small wrinkles appeared around his eyes and mouth and his eyes gleamed lovingly. Billa had to tear her gaze away to not stare at the king in a such impolite manner. Her gaze moved over the dwarves in this hall, only females and dwarflings. She counted twenty richly dressed dwarf females and forty females of the race of elves and men. Then she realised that some of the children were a blend of two races.

'Mistress Baggins, may I introduce you to lady Dis. The kings first wife and mistress of the royal women.' Balin adressed Billa and gestured towards a dwarf with beautiful blonde braids and a light beard.

'Wives. As in plural?' Billa was stunned. 'I apologise. I am Billa Baggins, lady Dis, at your service.'

'Dis, at yours.' the female dwarf looked upon the hobbit with a neutral expression. 'Please, come closer, I will introduce you to the kings family.'

After a few moments Billas head was spinning and she desperately needed to sit down. The twenty female dwarves were indeed the kings wives, the forty other women were his concubines. And the all in all sixty dwarflings were the kings children.

'Sweet Yavanna!' Billa sighed. 'I will never be able to remember all of those names.'

'Do not worry, mistress Billa. The king himself has his difficulties with that. He rather gives our little ones numbers than names. 'Dis chuckled.

'Why does he need that many wives? Does he even love all these women?' Billa stammered and instantly regretted her question.

'Love? The king does not love.' Dis stated as if it was the most normal thing in the world. 'It is an honor to be chosen by the king and to be his wife or even his concubine. Many of the women here were sent to us as diplomatical offer from the neighbouring kingdoms. King Thorin has only rarely rejected such a diplomatical offer. The race of dwarves was in danger in the past. Dwarves tended to be more into their crafts as into their partners and with the years less dwarflings saw the light of day. Thorins ancestors established a law that allowed dwarves of the noble class to have more than one wife. And as you can see Erebor is strong and prosper and the kings position is secured through his children.'

'No love.' Billa paled. She had loved her husband more than anything in the world. The thought of living with someone as his wife and not being in love sickened Billa. 'Right. So as I was told that I shall tutor the kings family, it actually included all of you? All hundred and twenty?'

'Yes, is that a problem?' Dis smirked at Billas sigh.

'Nope.' Billa answered dryly and fainted.

Thorin watched as the hobbit fainted and rolled his eyes. His punishment had been successful, but he had not expected the lass to faint. This small creature irritated him deeply. The irritating superior attitude was most unpleasant and unattractive. The king doubted that the lass could teach his family anything. He cocked an eyebrow at Balin who shrugged his shoulders.

'It has been a straining day, your majesty. And the lass probably missed two out of her seven meals.' Balin smirked and the king looked at him in surprise. Hobbits. Such strange creatures.

Billa stirred and slowly opened her eyes. For a moment she did not know where she was. But Frodos worried voice brought her back into the real world.

'Mother! Are you alright?' Frodo looked down at Billa and sighed in relief as she opened her eyes.

'My apologies, we should not have thrown you into the cold water like this, mistress Baggins.' Dis said and helped her up into a sitting position. 'Here, drink this.'

Billa took the cup out of Dis hands and took a deep sip. The liquid burned down her throat and made her cough violently. A warm tingle filled her stomach and Billa felt light headed all of a sudden.

'What is this?' she asked hoarsely.

'A drink made out of small spuds which grow in the earth surrounding the mountain. Don´t drink too hasty, its very strong.' Dis explained.

'You think?' Billa asked sarcastically and tried to stand up. 'I´m going to stay on the floor for a while.'

'No rush.' Dis smiled and turned towards Frodo. 'I will introduce your son to the others if you don´t mind.'

As Billa shook her head Dis took Frodos arm and led him to the group of older dwarflings, all about his own age. Billa watched as her son was introduced to them, at last to a blond dwarf with a braided beard and blonde hair like Dis. His blue eyes glared at Frodo arrogantly and Billa frowned. Shakingly she stood up and walked towards the group.

'Mistress Billa, this is my son and the crown prince Fili.' Dis introduced her to the oldest.

'Billa Baggins, at your service.' Billa greeted him, but the young dwarf only looked at her with his chin held high.

'Crown prince Fili, at yours.' he said and turned to his mother. 'I do not understand. If the free folk of Middle Earth wants diplomatical relations with us they should learn about our customs and our way of life and not the other way around. There is no need for a tutor.'

'Fili, you should honor your teacher, as it is custom with us _dwarves._' Thorin had appeared out of nowhere and scolded his oldest son. At his side was a small female dwarfling, barely reaching his hip in height, who smiled at Billa timidly. 'This is Sigrid, she is my youngest dwarfling.' Thorin introduced her.

'I am no dwarfling, I am a bunny!' the small girl exclaimed and jumped into her fathers arms. She was clearly his favourite, for Thorin smiled widely as he lifted her up in his arms. 'Our children are our hope for the future, mistress Baggins. Our future is in your hands.'

Billa swallowed hard as Thorin looked at her intimidately and nodded. 'I will not disappoint you, king Thorin.'

Thorin smiled grimly. 'You may start by obeying me.' With a last loving smile at Sigrid and Fili Thorin left for his duties.

'Such devotion to progress is to be recommended.' Billa remarked, but winced as she saw Balins frown.

'Do you believe us being barbarians, mistress Baggins?' Balin sneered. 'What you call progress is simply the western way of life. How can a diversion from our lifestyle be progress?'

'I am sure many males from the western lands would see it as a progress to have that many wives.' Billa tried to relieve the tension by making a joke.

'King Thorin has spent much time travelling the lands of the West as a young dwarf. He is now making up for lost time.' Balin stated with a smirk. Him and Billa wer walking to the door of the huge family wing and were soon joined by Frodo.

'My lord, what is a concubine?' the fauntling asked Balin and Billa blushed violently at Balins chuckle. 'And why does the king have so many wives?'

'That is an excellent question young lad. For your mother.' Balin blinked at Billa who cleared her throat.

'Well...you see...the king has to secure his line and...he might lose some of the children to war and disease, so he needs a lot of children...and many wives to take care of them.' Billa was happy that she could come up with an explanation, but hoped that her son had not payed too much attention to her stammering.

_She was the first hobbit I had ever met. And it seemed to me, that she knew more about the world than anyone. The wind had whispered her arrival like a coming storn. it wasn't until years later that I began to appreciatehow brave she was and how lonely she must have been. A hobbit. The first I ever met._


	3. Chapter 3

A small caravan moved down the road to Erebor. A golden litter was carried by six dwarves and surrounded by heavily armed guards. On the litter sat an elven women, beautiful, pale and with red hair. Her eyes, formerly glowing with a fiery spirit and lust of life, were sad and she did not gaze upon the huge mountain which arose in front of her path. People walked beside her on the narrow road and some were looking at her with sympathy. She was the posession of the elven king Thranduil of Mirkwood, a mere guard, and now she was to become king Thorins concubine for political reasons. The fortyfirst to be exact. She was told that it was an high honor, that the king was a gentle and kind lover and that he treated his women well. But nevertheless tears fell down her face and onto her lap. Her heart was not free for this journey.

'Tauriel!' a young and brown haired dwarf ran towards the litter. It was Kili, the dwarf Tauriels heart belonged to. They had met on an archery contest and had fell in love instantly. Kili had been the only archer to keep up with Tauriel and he had shown no sign of hurt pride as Tauriel had won the contest in the end. Tauriel had no family, so Kili had asked king Thranduil for her hand in marriage. But king Thranduil had not blessed their love and in his cruelty he had sent Tauriel to become a dwarf kings concubine instead of a dwarf archers wife.

'I love you, Tauriel! Do you hear me? I will never forget you! Never!' Tauriels tears soiled her dress as she heard Kilis desperate cries fade behind the litter. The caravan disappeared inside the Lonely Mountain at sunset.

Today was Billas first day of tutoring. The hobbit tutor was nervous, but she had to keep her cool, for the dwarves would jump at her the second she showed any weakness. Fili welcomed her in class with the smug confidence of a dwarven crownprince.

'Good morning, mistress Baggins. May I gift you with a present before we start?' without waiting for her answer Fili clicked with his fingers and a servant rushed towards Billa, handing her a rolled up map of the dwarven territories of the north as big as Billa herself. As she rolled it open she saw a huge painting of king Thorins portrait smack in the middle of the map, staring at her with confident eyes, such as Filis. 'This is a map of our kingdom, with its heart, Erebor, ruled by king Thorin, whose strength and power reach everywhere!'

Frodo could not help but snicker at his mothers face and the words of the crownprince. Fili turned towards him and frowned. 'Whats so funny, son of teacher?'

'Son of teacher does not believe that son of king is correct. The kings power did never reach the Shire.' Frodo stated firmly.

'Frodo. Enough.' Billa scolded her son and she saw Filis glare.

'I apologise, mother.' Frodo said, but the matter was not settled.

'In Erebor, dwarves never apologise!' Fili exclaimed furiously. 'If you had a father he would have told you so!'

Before Billa could react Frodo had stood up and shoved Fili against the nearest desk.

'How dare you touch me?' Fili snarled.

'I am not touching you, I am shoving you!' Frodo snarled back and soon the boys were shouting and shoving each other.

Billa quickly tried to roll up the map which she was still holding, as the shouting became louder and the shoves got harder. She rolled and rolled and rolled until she gave up and tossed the map over her shoulder onto her own desk. She rushed towards her son who was struggling on the floor below Filis grasp. The other princes and princesses were standing around them, cheering for them to fight. In the chaos nobody noticed that princess Sigrid ran away towards the throne room.

Thorin had a severe headache. He had spent half the day in council already and the endless discussions tired and bored him. He wanted to go back to the treasury and relish in the sight of all his gold. Or sit in the throne room under the bright light of the arkenstone. Today, another concubine had arrived. A woman from the race of the elves. She was tall, athletic and beautiful, but Thorin did not care for her. Her eyes were dead and she looked down at her feet during the entire session. But he would do his duty and welcome her into his family. His other wives and concubines were happy in Erebor and he was sure that the she-elf would get used to live under the mountain. His thoughts were disrupted as princess Sigrid burst into the council and whispered into his ear. The councildwarves winced as they saw the kings eyes harden and bowed deeply as the king stood up to follow his youngest daughter out.

As Thorin reached the royal families wing, the tumult had already been turned down by Billa and Frodo was about to write down his punishment sentence onto a board. "Loyalty, honor and a willing heart are Erebors hope for the future." Thorin read and smiled as he remembered his words from the days before, just that he had said that Erebors dwarflings would be the hope of Erebors future. Billa had turned his words into a new context and Thorin liked it. Thorin looked at the hobbit closely. She was sitting at her desk, reading a book, while Frodo wrote and Fili stood beside his board, stubborn and with his arms crossed. Fili did not move one finger to write down his punishment and looked straight ahead with his head held high. Thorin knew his son. Fili would never start to write and Billa Baggins would spend the rest of her life waiting. But Thorin was curious to know what had caused this punishment from the hobbit at the first day of class. He strode towards Dis and asked his first wife.

'Our son insulted the memory of the hobbit boys father.' Dis told him. She was embarrassed about her sons behaviour and she silently gave the hobbit credit for punishing him for it, regardless his rank or his position. But she also knew that her sonw as one of the most stubborn dwarves in Middle Earth, right after his father of course. As she looked at her husband and king Dis saw an amused gleam in his eyes, one she had not seen for a vey long time. As Thorin told her what to do, Dis smiled knowingly.

Frodo had finished his thousand sentences two hours before midnight and was free to leave for his bed. Exhausted he looked at his mother and at the prince who had still not moved one bit.

'Will you come, mother?' Frodo asked Billa, who shook her head.

'I will not leave until prince Fili writes down his punishment.' Billa stated determinately.

Frodo frowned at Fili and let out a long sigh before he left for his bed. He knew that his mother would sit there all night and probably fall asleep over her book. A short moment after he left Dis and a dozen other wives came into the classroom with food and drinks and smiled at Billa who looked at the food angrily.

'I have not dismissed the prince from class, yet.' Billa said calmly, ready to face the first lady who surely tried to pamper her son.

'It is food for one person, or better say, one hobbit.' Dis stated firmly and supressed a grin as she saw Fili smug face disappear and being replaced by utter shock. 'The king sends his respects and hopes that you are pleased with the food he sent you.'

Billa was speechless for a while and stared at the plates of food standing in front of her. She had not eaten since the morning and she was incredibly hungry. But she could not eat until prince Fili also ate. It was just not right. But king Thorin had set a clear sign. He would take care for Billas wellbeeing over the wellbeeing of his son, who had rightfully received his punishment from the hobbit. Realising this, Fili grabbed the chalk and began to write. Dis blinked at Billa and left for her own chambers. She was glad that her son, for once, did not get his way.

Hours later, Billa sat down with Fili and shared her food with the young prince. Filis respect for Billa had grown during the day, for he had never before met a person whose stubborness matched his own. Well, a person who was not his own father.

'Tell me something about your people, prince Fili.' Billa asked the young dwarf. Today, she had realised that she knew only little about dwarves and she knew that she would never be able to teach them about the culture of the West if she knew nothing about their own. 'How do you live? Tell me more about Erebor, it is the sevenths and youngest of all dwarven kingdoms is it not?'

'The dwarves were made of stone, after the wish of Aule, who wanted to see others than elves and men to populate Middle Earth. Aule created six pairs of dwarves and Durin, the forefather of our kin. Its is told, that Durin, as well as the forefathers of the other dwarven lines, will be reborn various times in our kings and therefore my father, king Thorin, is seen as a goodlike ruler of our people. Aule created only six female dwarves to pair with six of the forefathers. Durin was to take a dwarf wife from every one of the other lines with every of his reincarnations. Today Durins Folks contains the blood of all dwarven lines and is the most powerful of all lines. Our house is the house of the Longbeards. There are also the Firebeards, Blacklocks, Stonefoots, Stiffbeards, Ironfists and Broadbeams. The Longbeards inhabited Khazad-dûm for the First Age. The Firebeards and Broadbeams inhabited Ered Luin and built Nogrod and Belegost. The Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks and Stonefoots are to be found in the East. Dwarves also inhabit Gundabad, Ereth Mithrin, the Blue Mountains and the Ered Luin.' Fili explained to Billa, not forgetting that the hobbit heard this for the first time. 'The dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost are the only warriors who can stand their ground against the firedrakes who came to Middle Earth from the north. Even the elves were powerless against such power. Sauron, the dark lord, tried to enslave the dwarves with his seven rings of power, but the dwarven stubborness is far more powerful than Saurons magic. Dwarves held their wealth and riches above most, so that the other people of Middle Earth look upon us as greedy and ignorant, but remind yourself that we were the only ones to withstand Saurons magic. The dark lord despised dwarves for their resistance and got back three of the rings by force. The other four were destroyed by dragonfire. Us dwarves were the only ones who resisted the dark lords magic.'

'For what prize?' Billa asked curiously. 'Everyone has a weak point. Does the dwarven love for gold stand over their love to their partners. Or other people even? Do dwarves love anything else than their riches?'

It sounded like a horrible thing to ask to Billa, but Fili shook his head, for the question was normal in his eyes. 'Dwarves love their families, most of all their children. Dwarven parents take attacks on their children more serious than attacks on themselves. They defend their little ones with all their power, even if it would mean their own death. Same goes for the children. I would do anything to protect my father and he would also give his life for me.'

_'Our children are our hope for the future.' _Billa remembered Thorins words and felt the sincerity behind them.

'And what about your class system?' Billa asked, but their conversation was interrupted by a long, shrieking howl from the corridors.


	4. Chapter 4

'What was that?' Fili looked at Billa with an alarmed expression. Another shrieking, but also suffering howl reached their ears and Fili winced.

'It comes from the mines.' Billa stood up and followed the howl echoing in the narrow corridors and high ceiling of Erebor. Fili followed her silently. They needed a while to find the source of the suffering howls and as they did, Billa covered her mouth in shock.

Chained to the rock sat a female dwarf, hardly recognisable below a layer of dust, filth and sweat. She crawled back as Billa and Fili appeared and covered her face. She lamented and cried, but Billa could not understand her. Fili frowned at the dwarf and covered his nose.

'What is that smell? Its awful!' Fili looked down at the chained dwarf in a mixture of disgust and disbelief. But Billa knelt down beside the dwarf.

'Prince Fili, I need you to translate.' Billa told Fili determinately. 'We'll see this as a testing of your Westron.'

'Master Balin, this is not right!' Billa was furious and paced in front of the old advisor. 'In your culture a dwarf servant has the right to buy him or herself free. This servant has given her mistress the amount of coins that would buy her her freedom and her mistress took it! And then she chained her up for her _ingratitude_!'

'Please, mistress Baggins, these things are none of your concern.' Balin sighed and tried to calm Billa down. 'Don't interfere in things you do not understand.'

'You are right, I do not understand!' Billa exclaimed. 'This mistress has taken the money and she did nothing! She stole it from her servant! I do not live here for long, but I know that dwarves see theft as a crime punishible by death in the worst case! This _noble _dwarf has commited a crime!'

But Balin only shook his head and stayed deaf to Billas outrage. Tired and disappointed Billa returned to her class. Fili already awaited her. The young prince was also tired from last nights happenings and seemed thoughtful.

'Mistress Baggins?' he adressed Billa quietly. 'Why are some born high and some born low?'

'That is an excellent question, prince Fili.' Billa sighed. 'But maybe you should ask your father.'

'You are the teacher, not my father. I ask you.' Fili stated stubbornly.

Billa looked at the young dwarf in amusement. She turned around and reached for one of her books and gave it to Fili.

'Uncle Bombadils Cabin.' Fili read out loud. 'By Arwen of Rivendell. An elf _woman_?'

Billa chuckled at Filis shocked expression. 'Read it. It will open your eyes. And you should know by now that females of all races are not to be underestimated.'

As if on clue Dis appeared behind Fili. 'Good morning, mistress Baggins. I see that my son has developped an interest in books? You need to tell me your secret?'

Billa warmly smiled at Dis and thought that there was more to the dwarf lady than met the eye. She was the first lady of Erebor and she supported Thorin in her own way. Maybe there was no love between them, but respect and friendship created a strong bond between the king and Filis mother. Filis returned to his book and left the two women alone.

'This is a beautiful ring you have there.' Dis suddenly remarked and pointed at Billas golden necklace with the ring of her mother.

'My mother found the ring during her travels through the Misty Mountains.' Billa remembered. 'She was quite the adventurer. Sometimes I wish I was more like her.'

'But you are!' Dis smiled. 'You are far away from home, in a land foreign to you and the rest of Middle Earth. A very unexpected journey one might say. You are a brave soul, Billa Baggins. Your mother would be proud of you.'

Billa felt a warm tingle in her heart from lady Dis words and let out a happy sigh. 'Thank you, lady Dis. Your words mean alot to me.'

Dis only took Billas hand and squeezed it. 'You have no idea how much hope you give us, Billa Baggins. King Thorins family sets all their hope in you. Your tutoring will set a new course in the politics of the dwarves. We have hidden in the shadows for too long and our secretive and introverted way of life has weakened us. The dwarves are a strong folk and it is time that we take our place in Middle Earth.'

Billa swallowed heavily as Dis bowed her head and left to help the other wives with their daily duties. The dwarves hope in her was flattering, but it was also a burden. A burden she had not wished to take. Billa subconsiously played with her ring and suddenly she knew what she would do. Her mothers ring was the only posession of worth she had left and to be honest she had never liked the golden ring. Her mother had forbidden her to ever put it on, but Billa - curious as ever - had done it anyway and had managed to disappear in the middle of the Yule feast in Hobbiton. Thank Eru, most hobbits had been too drunk to realise that Billa had a magical ring. Afterwards Billa had never put it on again and tried to ignore the whispers coming from the ring. She would not miss it.

'Mistress Baggins!' Balin rushed into Billas classroom two days later, as she had just ended her lessons. 'The king asks for your presence at once! Have I not told you to keep your nose out of that servants business?'

Billa could not help but smirk at the scolding advisor. 'You did, but I chose to ignore it.'

'The kings loyalty towards the nobles families as well as their loyalty to him shall not be compromised.' Balin muttered and turned to lead her to the throne room, where the dwarf mistress kneeled on the floor before the throne. As Billa entered she heard a sneer from the dwarf and a wave of khuzdul was thrown at her. King Thorin sat on his throne, highly amused.

'Mistress Baggins, this noble dwarven lady accuses you of stealing her property. You gave her your mothers ring, a noble prize for a servant, but you gave her the payment after you removed the servant from her chains?' Thorin cocked an eyebrow at Billa. 'Have I gotten myself a burglar instead of a teacher?'

'King Thorin, if I may explain.' Billa bowed her head, but kept a straight composure as always. 'This servant has already tried to buy her freedom from her mistress once, like your laws allow her to. But the mistress dwarf took the money and chained her up near the mines. If I would have given her my ring in beforehand, she might have took it without setting free the servant. No dwarf should be above the law. Your majesty wants to build a kingdom greater than himself and thats why I came here.'

Billa could see that her words made an impression on Thorin, but before he could speak the dwarf lady sneered at Billa in broken Westron.

'You dare to stand before the lord of the silver fountains!' she looked at Billa in disgust and spit to the ground. Billa frowned at the dwarf lady and Thorin smirked at her defiant expression.

'Master Balin, would you please inform the lady about our laws?' he ordered and had to supress a grin as Balin told the dwarf lady that according to Ereborian law every servant had the right to buy his or her freedom.

'But if all of my servants would buy themselves free...' the dwarf lady was stunned. 'Then I would have to serve myself in the end?!'

'That would be most unfortunate.' Thorin stated, but his eyes were hard and the dwarf lady understood that there was nothing to discuss. Clenching her teeth, the dwarf lady bowed deeply and rushed out of the throne room. But before she left she took Billas ring and tossed it over the edges into the deep of Erebors mines with a nasty smirk. She would not take a hobbit charity. Thorin looked at the hobbit while her gaze followed her mothers ring down the deeps of the mountains and the clinging of the metal on stone faded. He could see her wincing as the ring disappeared, but she stayed calm. He felt sorry for her loss, for he knew that the ring had been her mothers, but this was what she got for intervening in the nobles business. Since there was no businees to attend in the throne room anymore, Thorin stood up and walked to the door, followed by an unusually silent Billa.

'How are the classes going, mistress Baggins?' he wanted to know. 'Is my son behaving?'

'He is doing very well, your majesty.' Billa stated. 'I wanted to thank you for sending me supper, back then. But it had not been necessary.'

Thorin looked at the hobbit in surprise. 'I know my son, you would still sit there.'

'But what lesson has he learned? To respect his classmates? Or to fear his father?' Billa told Thorin quietly and winced as Thorins handsome face grimaced into a frown. But the king quickly regained control over his features.

'Since I have heard no further complains about either my son or yours, I suspect that the matter is settled.' Thorin sighed and looked at Billa. The hobbit was a stubborn one. 'Your husband must have been very understanding.' he said all of a sudden and regretted his words as soon as he saw Billas face.

His words were not meant in a mean way, but Billas heart ached at the memory of her husband. 'My husband never felt threatened by my opinion.' she merely answered and looked at her feet.

'And because I am not threatened by you or your opinion either, I will allow you to stand in my presence.' Thorin told Billa and smiled. It was the first time that Billa saw the king smile at her and she tried not to look too surprised. She had been accepted on eyelevel with the dwarves by their king himself. Not only on eyelevel with the dwarves, but on eyelevel with their king.

'You still miss him. How long as he been dead?' apparently Thorin was not ready to let the topic of Billas husband go.

'He died nearly two years ago.' Billa said sadly.

'How?' Thorin knew that it was an insensitive thing to ask, but he could not help himself.

'In my arms.' was all that Billa said.

'Mahal must have had his reasons to take him from you.' Thorin stated quietly. 'Reasons we do not understand. All I understand is that if it had not been for your tragic loss, the unique opportunity of influencing the faith of the northern lands might have fallen to somebody else.'

Billa looked at the kings now soft eyes in surprise. His words had something comforting and for the first time since her husbands death Billa felt warm and safe around another person. It just struck her that this person was the king of Erebor, the lord of the silver fountains and the lord of the arkenstone. It scared her. Billa looked back at the throne and her eyes locked on the arkenstone.

'It is the heirlom of my house.' Thorin told her as he followed her gaze. 'The heart of the mountain.'

'You removed the mountains heart?' Billa asked timidly. 'Maybe all the gold is the mountains blood?'

Thorin tilted his head to look at the smaller hobbit. 'I never thought of it that way. To us, the arkenstone defends our right to rule, my right to rule. Because of that stone my house stands strong.'

Billa could not understand how a mere jewel could represent so much, but she accepted it without asking. 'The arkenstone is on Erebors flag, is it not?'

Thorin nodded. 'The flags color is a royal deep blue, which is the color of the house of Durin, my house. The throne and the arkenstone on the flag symbolize Durins right to rule.'

'What if the jewel will be lost one day? Or stolen?' Billa asked.

At that, Thorins face darkened. 'Lets hope that this will never happen, to the sake of all.'


	5. Chapter 5

'The Iron Hills have attacked our caravans!' prince Frerin, Thorins younger brother, exclaimed furiously. Balin and his brother Dwalin, the captain of Thorins army, stood there and listened to the princes outburst. 'We are mourning about a dozen dead! The Iron Hills have an alliance with the race of men, which my brother tries to achieve also! But how are we supposed to be allies with men if they support our enemies?'

'What do you suggest, my prince?' Balin asked the young prince. 'Do we have proof that it have been our kin from the Iron Hills?'

'The survivors of the caravan have recognised the armor of the dwarves from the Iron Hills.' Frerin assured and Dwalin nodded. 'The alliance with Dale seems to make them bold. They might think that we are an easy target since we do not have official alliances with the elves and men.'

'We need more proof before we can go to war with the Iron Hills.' Balin warned Frerin. 'A war would distabilise the whole northern region, even the dwarves of the Iron Hills can´t be that reckless. And war is the last thing Thorin wants.'

'He will not have a choice.' Dwalin grumbled. 'What king stands there while his people are murdered?'

Balin sighed heavily. The attack on the caravan was a huge step back in Thorins efforts to pacify the north. But his brother was right, such attacks could not be tolerated.

The life of one of Thorins concubines was one without worry and without peril. Tauriel felt strangely at peace inside of the mountain, but her heart still cried for her love, Kili. As an elf, Tauriel was used to wander under the sun and under the light of the stars. Kili had once told her that the light of the stars was a cold and distant one, but to Tauriel the starlight was memory, precious and pure. She had not seen the sky since she had come to Erebor a week ago and she missed the freedom she had experienced as an elf.

The only one who seemed to understand her was the hobbit. Not even the other concubines, all from the race of men and elves, understood why she cried herself to sleep every night. Billa did not need words, she saw the broken eyes of the elf and smiled at her comfortingly. Tauriel took Billas classes to divert her thoughts from the despair she felt. She did feel better when she was near Billa, but her heartache remained. Tauriel noticed the growing bond between the king and the tutor of his family, but she said nothing. Little did she know that Billa was about to make her life a bit easier.

Billa was summoned before the king about a week after the ring incident. They had not seen each other for a week and Billa wondered what the king wanted from her this time. Had she gone against protocol again? She was even more stunned as she came into the throne room and was ordered by the king to follow him as soon as she had arrived in front of the throne. In a fast pace Billa tried to follow the king and started to get out of breath as they climbed countless staircases for a while. After a while they had reached the end of the staircases and Thorin walked down a narrow corridor guarded by four heavily armed dwarves. _My goodness, is he bringing me into the dungeon? _Billa was about to panic, but behind the next corner Thorin stopped and turned to smile at Billa. He opened a heavy door and gestured to Billa to pass. With a distrusting look Billa passed the door and froze.

She was standing on a huge ledge, about five time as big as her garden in the Shire. Built into the rock on the mountainside was a door and behind it were several chambers. At the edge of the ledge stood a massive wall, as high as Billas shoulders and Billa felt as if she was standing on a huge balcony. 'Where am I' she asked in wonder and heard the king chuckle. A wonderful sound.

'You are on the southwest side of the mountain, mistress Baggins.' Thorin explained to her with a smirk. 'If you look out there, you can see parts of Dale and in the west you can see Gundabad. A landslide destroyed most of the rooms on this side of the mountain, but we have stabilised the rock and I was thinking that perhaps you would prefer this open wing to your chambers deep inside of the mountain. You can turn this plain into a garden if you like. And there is one other thing. Tauriel, master Baggins!'

Billa jumped as the king called out for his concubine and her son. As she turned around she saw Frodo and Tauriel standing in the door to her new rooms and Frodo ran towards his mother happily.

'The sun! I haven´t seen the sun since...felt like forever!' Frodo exclaimed and jumped into his mothers arms. 'Can we stay here? Please?'

Billa was still stunned and turned to Thorin. 'Is it because you had promised me a house outside of the mountain in the contract you sent me - do not think I forgot, your majesty - or do you want to get rid of me?'

'Yes.' Thorin merely said and left with a wide smile on his face. Little did he know that Billa looked after him with the same bright smile on her face.

Tauriel spent the days with Billa and Frodo in class or in their own wing with access to the sky and fresh air. At night she returned to the royal wing to the other concubines. After a few weeks she felt courageous enough to ask Billa to take a letter out to Dale. The hobbit loved to walk over the markets of Dale and Tauriel hoped that Billa could get a letter to Kili. She told her that it was a letter to her family and Billa innocently took the letter to take it to the market. That way, Tauriel managed to keep in contact to her love and her days were filled with hope and joy when she received a letter back. The hobbit had no idea, but Tauriel did not plan to tell her about Kili. The less the hobbit knew the better.

That evening Billa and Frodo were invited to dinner with the royal family. It went well until Thorin offered Frodo an ale, much to Billas shock.

'Your majesty!' she exclaimed and faced an mused Thorin. 'My sons is eleven years old, he will not drink any ale!'

'I had my fist ale at the age of nine.' Thorin grinned. 'I am sure there is no harm in that. But I will promise you that I will never offer your son ale again, if you will not give books as such - to my son.'

Thorin held "Uncle Bombadils Cabin" between his fingers and gave it back to Billa, who understood his intent. At first she was disappointed that Thorin seemed ignorant to this western influence, but she was was instantly told otherwise.

'I cannot change my kingdom over night, mistress Baggins.' Thorin told her quietly and then turned back to his family, leaving a dreamy hobbit behind.

In the meantime Frerin used his brothers good mood to talk to him about the attacks from the Iron Hills. He was sure that the men from Dale stood behind their allies from the Iron Hills and recommended a preventive attack on Dale. But Thorin declined.

'I will not attack anyone without proof of their hostility. And you will leave the Iron Hills in peace. If we attack the Iron Hills we will have a full scale war on our hands and we will have to fight on two fronts. There are other ways to settle this.' Thorin looked towards Billa as he said this. He already had a plan. 'The men and elves already think of us as barbarians. I am not what they say and neither are our people, Frerin. I will invite the men of Dale and the men of the south. They have become strong and aggressive and I will not let them force us into war with the Iron Hills so that they have an excuse to also declare war on us. Mistress Baggins, would you come here for a moment?'

Billa was surprised that Thorin asked her to join him and his brother, but she smiled openly as she walked over to them. She paled as she heard what she was asked to do.

Thorin had planned the feast with the men to be in three weeks. Billa had no idea where to start, but she knew what to do. Thorin and the dwarves of Erebor would not be the barbarians most of the men expected, they would show themselves from their best side. Which meant, table manners, a civil feast and clothes in a more western style. Billa started by teaching the dwarves how to use a spoon, a fork and a knife, which was not easy for people who were used to use their hands to eat. Especially cutting the meat of the bone was no easy task for some of the dwarves and Billa had to fight rolling her eyes when the food was catapulted of the dish various times. The most difficult task was to keep the servants from dropping to their knees when Thorin arrived, for they let go of their dinner trays and the glasses and dishes shattered on the floor with a loud crash. After the fifth time Billa had enough and nicely told Thorin that it would be impossible to wait on the guests in this manner. Thorin smiled at the hobbits remark and told the servants to stand up. At first none of the servants moved, for they could not understand why their king suddenly needed them to stand in his presence. At last all the servants were standing around the king and his court, although their eyes were still set downwards.

'But only for that night.' Thorin told Billa with a smirk and Billa nodded happily. That was more than she had expected from the protocol loving king.

Billa, Dis and Tauriel worked on the dresses for Thorins wives and concubines day and night. Billa had combined a few western styles with the dwarven style, which made the dresses less pompous, but still royal. She chose dwarven colors, like dark blue, red and green and combined them with golden or mithril highlights.

In the end she was quite happy with herself. For that one evening she had managed to turn the old society of the dwarves into a perfect mixture of their old culture and western highlights, that way the dwarves would stay themselves without turning into a complete western society. Billa liked the dwarven culture, although it was so different ot her own. That was it - it was different, not bad.

Erebor had a rich culture and a proud history, one that could easily match the culture and history of elves and men. Billa remembered the stories she had been told about Thorins grandfather, king Thror who had fallen victim to madness, followed by Thorins father. The thought that Thorin owed his kingdom to dwarves who had been declared insane frightened Billa. But when she looked into king Thorins eyes she could not see any madness. At least not when he was with her. Maybe he would be different.


	6. Chapter 6

King Thorin had invited them all after sunset. The men from Dale, Laketown, Rohan and Gondor and the elves of Mirkwood, Lothlorien and Rivendell. He had thought about inviting the dwarves of the Iron Hills, but due to the circumstances he had quickly dismissed that idea. The great Hall of Erebor looked like a fairy land. Candles and flowers decorated the huge table in the middle and the silverware sparkled between the dishes.

Lord Bard, the mayor of Laketown, King Thengel and lord Denethor were there, as well as lord Elrond, lady Galadriel and king Thranduil. The lord of men stared at Thorins wives and concubines in awe, secretly wishing to ahve such a great harem themselves. King Thranduil was enjoying the wine king Thorin had bought for this special occasion and Thorin himself was engaged into a conversation with Elrond and Galadriel.

Billa cursed under her breath as she reached the feast, for she was late. She had not been able to decide what to wear and now she was late, which was totally unacceptable for a respectable hobbit. In the end she had chose a cream colored and voluminous dress and had tied her hair up into a lose knot. Some of her curls fell back onto her shoulders, but she thought that she looked younger that way. She was just entering the great hall, as king Thorins gaze set on her and a smile appeared on his face. Timidly she walked towards him and the elves and bowed deeply.

'Forgive me, my lord. The sun set early today.' Billa muttered her apology.

'To me, it just rose.' Thorin stated charmingly and Billa blushed. 'Mistress Baggins, please let me introduce you to lord Elrond of Rivendell and lady Galadriel.'

'Mae govannen, my lord, my lady.' Billa bowed before the elves and smiled warmly at the beautiful elven lady. 'Billa Baggins, at your service.'

'I see you have adapted to the dwarven life, miss Baggins.' Galadriels voice was like the sounds of silver bells. Billa instantly liked her.

'Everyone was to focus on the progress Erebor made, but now their attention is diverted to you.' Thorin softly scolded Billa, who shyly smiled at his compliment. Neither of them saw lord Bard of Dale frown. The lord of men was surprised by the open affection between the king and the hobbit. He had never expected the hobbit to actually achieve any changes in the dwarven kingdom, but apparently he had underestimated her greatly.

Before dinner was served, Thorins children sang to their guests. "Far over the Misty Mountains Cold" was the dwarven song they had translated into Westron. It was a beautiful, but sad, song and Billa and the elves and men had tears in their eyes as they listened to the children sing. As the song was over the children bowed and turned to leave for their beds, but little Sigrid ran towards Thorin and whispered in his ear. With a smile, the king under the mountain stood up from the table and adressed his guests.

'Forgive my manners, but I do not wish to break with family tradition.' he smirked and lifted his little daughter up into his arms and kissed her goodnight. Not only Billa smiled at the display of affection between father and daughter and the hall remained silent until little Sigrid had left the hall with fast little steps.

One of the men from Laketown managed to spoil the peaceful moment. 'I congratulate you on all the women, your majesty. I almost wish I was a dwarf myself.'

The man probably thought that he was making Thorin a compliment, but the kings expression darkened at the mans disrespectful mention of his family.

'Excuse me, I do not recall your name?' Thorin looked the man up and down and decided that he did not like him at all.

'I am Alfrid of Laketown.' the man introduced himself. 'I am counselor to the mayor and head of the commerce.'

'I see.' Thorin wanted to let go of the topic and focus in more civilised guests as Alfrid spoke again.

'Erebor has started to join the commerce with a surprisingly strong experience, king Thorin.' Alfrid grinned and made Thorin clench his hands to fists. 'But is that your understanding of progress?'

'Progress?' Thorins voice was low, the only indication for his anger and fury. 'Is Erebor that inferior that it has the need of progress?'

'Men are superior, as well as elves.' Alfrid remarked as a matter of fact. 'The massacres up and down your borders are signs of Erebors weakness, no wonder you seak the help of the men and elves!'

Gasps and growling from the dwarves were heard around the table. Thorin took a deep breath before answering, but Billa beat him to the answer.

'Nobody has the right to judge who is superior to whom.' Billa practically snarled at Alfrid. 'Especially those who frequently demonstrate their so called superiority by armed force.'

Billa knew as well as anyone at that table, that the cities of men had only gotten as powerful as they were by the open and agressive display of their armies. Either you were with them, or against them. She would not let those men destroy everything she worked for.

The elves smiled at the hobbit interference and nodded in agreement.

'A toast!' lord Elrond used the silence to divert from the embarassing atmosphere. 'To our host, may history mark this occasion as the first step to a successful alliance.'

Everyone raised their glasses and the feast continued in a more merry fashion. Billa thankfully glanced at lord Elrond for elegantly passing over her outburst. She had behaved very unhobbity and although she knew that she had said the right thing, she felt embarassed. But as she saw Thorins glances towards her, all of their surroundings faded into mist. Billa had to say what she had said - for Thorin.

After dinner, Thorin stood up with a smirk. Musicians appeared from the shadows and all of a sudden there was dancemusic resounding from Erebors walls. 'After the custom of the people of the West I invite you all to dance.' Without any further word, Thorin focused on Billa and made his way around the table, towards her.

Billas heart was beating so loud that she thought that everyone had to hear it. Petrified, she watched as Thorin strode majestically towards her, eyeing her and smiling. As he stood before her he reached out for her hand and lightly pulled her up.

'I would be very happy, misttress Baggins, if you would honor me with the first dance.' Thorin stated quietly and his voice sent shivers down Billas spine. Speechless, she took his hand and let him guide her to the dancefloor, everyones eyes on them.

'I...I haven´t...danced in a long time.' Billa stammered. 'The evening went so well, I do not want to ruin it.'

'I am the king.' Thorin smirked at her. 'I will lead.'

With one hand on her waist and one hand leading her, Thorin started dancing swiftly and flowing. He was a remarkable dancer and Billa had no problem to follow his lead. She did wonder where he had learned to dance like this.

'I have never danced with a hobbit before.' Thorin stated amused.

'Nor I with a king.' Billa gently replied and looked up at Thorins handsome face, feeling completely lost all of a sudden.

Thorins wives and concubines, along with his brother Frerin and Balin and Dwalin watched in astonishment as they saw their king swirl over the dancefloor with the hobbit, smiling and laughing, highly enjoying himself. Dis and Frerin exchanged a knowing look and Frerin grinned happily at his brothers joy. It had been a long time since they had seen Thorin that happy. Now that Frerin thought about it, he had barely seen Thorin in the treasury lately.

The next morning, Billa and Frodo were striding along the market outside of Erebor. Billa was humming and almost dreamingly walked through the streets. Frodo shook his head at his mothers behaviour.

'You are humming, mother.' he stated as a matter of fact as tilted his head as his mother smiled at him happily. 'You haven´t hummed since...I can´t even remember.'

'I am happy, my son.' Billa knew that Frodo had witnessed his mothers dance with the king although he had been supposed to go to bed. 'He held his hands out for me as if I was...'

'One of his forty cocobines?' Frodo asked, grinning.

'Its concubines.' Billa answered sourly. 'And thank you very much.'

Billa was distracted by her sons words and did not notice a brow haired dwarf sneak up around them. As she felt something slip into her basket she turned, only to see the young dwarf run into the opposite direction. She looked down and saw the small box with an attached letter in her basket, adressed at Tauriel. Assuming that the dwarf had only been a courier, Billa thought nothing of it and continued her shopping.

As she returned to the royal wing she could not help but laugh at the sight of Thorins daughter, Sigrid. Her hands reaching out for an invisible partner, the little dwarfling swirled around in the family´s hall in an imaginary dance.

'Something tells me that she did not go to bed right away, yesterday.' Thorins deep voice made Billa jump, but she smiled as he walked up behind her and looked upon his daughter lovingly.

'It seems that way.' Billa smiled at Thorin, but instantly saw that something was worrying him. 'Is there something the matter, your majesty?'

When had she learned to read him that well? Billa tried to forget the voices whispering about Thorin in her head and focused on the present.

'I was told that the Iron Hills have formed an official alliance with the men of Dale. A war might be inevitable if the attacks continue.' Thorin informed her with a heavy heart. All their effort to establish strong bonds to the men and elves were in danger if war broke out between the two dwarven kingdoms. With a heavy sigh he turned around and walked back down the corridor, but looked at Billa expectantly, wanting her to follow. The hobbit followed the king until they were standing in his study. A small wooden box laid on his desk and Thorin pointed towards it. 'I have something for you, mistress Baggins.'

Billa walked towards the desk and took the box into her shivering fingers. It was beautifuly carved, with flowers entwining around a mountain. As she opened it she had to gasp and covered her mouth. It was her mothers ring, the golden band the dwarven lady had tossed into the depths of the mountain.

'You can´t...where have you...?' Billa was stunned and looked at the king with big eyes.

'I found it near the mines. It was calling out to me.' Thorin smiled, but he had no idea how his words made Billa remember the whispers she heard when she was near the ring.

'I can´t take it.' was all Billa managed to whisper.

'Why not?' Thorin looked at her now, with stony eyes and an expression even Billa could not read. 'It is yours, take it.'

But Billa could not. Taking this ring from Thorin would seem like a commitment and she knew what gifts meant to dwarves. She was the kings familys tutor and she would not let herself be bonded to him in such a way.

'I can't. I am sorry.' Billa whispered and left Thorins study without looking back.


	7. Chapter 7

Billa managed to stay away from the king for a few days, but her heart was heavy and her mind was occupied with the expression on the kings face as she had left him. A mixture of sorrow, hurt and anger had shown in Thorins eyes and his handsome face had turned cold. She knew from Balin that the king was spending more time in the treasury again and Billa worried. In the meantime she had been informed about the goldsickness that ran in the line of Durin. She was told that Thorins grandfather had become mad under the influence of gold and that Thorins father also succumbed to it. As Billa had asked if Thorin was sick too neither Balin nor Dis would answer her. Billa was standing on the balcony of her new home, musing, as a servant came rushing through the huge door.

'Mistress Baggins! You need to come with me, please hurry!' she stammered in broken Westron.

Billa looked at her with an alarmed expression. 'Its almost bedtime! What happened?'

'The king - little Sigrid...please come with me!' the servant hurried down the corridors and Billa followed, her worry increasing with every step she took towards the royal wing. As they arrived Billa was greeted by Balin, who looked tired and...sad.

'Master Balin, what happened?' Billa needed to know. The whole royal family was here and many of them were crying silently.

'Princess Sigrid.' Balin swallowed heavily. 'She has a fever.'

'A fever? There must be something that can be done?' Billa felt her heart wrench in sorrow for the little princess. As she looked around she knew that there was no hope left for Sigrid. Candles were lit and the kings wives were praying. The concubines held the other dwarflings in their arms comforting them. 'Why am I here, master Balin?'

'You are here, mistress hobbit, because princess Sigrid wanted to see you before she...' Balin sighed heavily. 'You have to promise me one thing. I know that you do not respect our protocol, but please - its is custom that we do not shed any tears when another dwarf dies. It is an honor to enter the halls of our ancestors and our tears would soil the memory of the good life the deceased has lived here with us. You are not to shed any tears when the princess leaves us, do you understand?'

Billa looked at the old advisor, numbed in pain and sorrow and only managed to nod. Balin shoved her through the door to the kings bedroom and Billa froze. King Thorin was sitting on the bed, holding his little daughter in his arms as if he tried to shield her from an invisible danger. Dis and Fili sat at the end of the bed, staring at the princess in the kings arms. Her little head was red from exhaustion and her hair sticked to her head in sweaty streaks. Billa sat down silently and waited for the king to acknowledge her presence. As Thorin turned his head to face her Billa had to hold back a gasp. The kings eyes were full of grief and despair, he knew that his little bunny was dying and that he could do nothing about it. He was the king, but he was incapable of saving his daughter from the fever. Thorin nodded gratefully as he realised that Billa had come to pay her respects to Sigrid. With teary eyes Billa reached for the little princess and as she touched her hand Sigrid opened her eyes to look at her tutor one last time. Sigrid was too weak to speak, she only smiled at Billa in her own sweet way and then closed her eyes again. Only moments later the little princess was gone. She had died in her fathers arms. Billa needed all her strength to not burst into tears. Shaking she lowered her gaze and fought against the pain she felt at the loss of the princess. Dis and Fili also lowered their heads in grief, but Thorin who had seemed controlled all that time cradled his little daughter in his arms and pressed a kiss onto his daughters head. Billa could see tears rolling down his face and her heart broke.

The next morning Billa let her tears run down her face freely as she stood in her classroom and looked upon Sigrids empty seat. The king had many children, but Sigrid had been his favorite, she had been his heart. Billa had loved the little dwarf dearly, she had been the sunlight under the mountain and a true joy to anyone who had been near her. Her loss had shaken the whole mountain.

After the day´s lessons Billa found king Thorin in his study, his head lowered and his gaze fixed on his paperworks. His grief was obvious, the king looked tired and pale and he had not been outside of his chambers since the death of Sigrid. His family worried about him, Billa knew it. Especially Fili worried for his father, but he did his best to keep an impression of strength on the outside. Inside, the prince was as devastated by his sisters death as his father was. Dis had continued with her life, her grief buried deep in her mind. She ran the royal wing like she had done before, only the sad gleam in her eyes being an indication for the loss of her youngest child. Billa cursed the dwarven necessity to be strong.

'Excuse me, your majesty?' Billa cleared her throat after a while of silence. 'The lessons are over for today and I was wondering...if you would visit your children tomorrow? They are asking for you and I...your Highness, you have other children who need their father. I understand your sorrow, but you...'

'You understand my sorrow? Do you?' Thorin turned towards her, his eyes flashing with anger and hurt. 'You have not gotten over the death of your own husband, he died years ago and you still deprive yourself of living! Never you are just a woman, you lie to yourself and you do not live yourself!You did not accept my present to you and you deny yourself thinking about me. Don´t tell me to continue living my life if you do not live yours yourself out of the same reasons. You have no right!'

Billa faltered under the words of the dwarf king. While her mind knew that he was right, her heart was badly hurt. She never allowed herself to think about h er and the king. She had never realised that Thorin had noticed it and it surprised her even more that he even cared about it. But she would not give up that easily. The king meant alot to her and she would not let his words make her think less of him.

'What about Fili?' Billa asked determinately. 'He needs you. He is your heir, but he is still a dwarfling. He needs his father.'

Mentionning of Fili made Thorins gaze soften. 'I am father to all of Erebor, not only to Fili. You are correct, I have to move on.'

Taking a deep breath Thorin walked towards the corridors before he turned back to Billa. 'Will Fili be a good king?'

'He has a warm heart and posesses high intelligence, he will make a good king, your majesty.' Billa answered honestly.

As Thorin smiled faintly and started to walk to the royal wing, Billa followed. They walked in silence for a few moments before Thorin spoke again. 'Do you feel at home, here, mistress Baggins?'

'I never have been at home anywhere, your majesty.' Billa answered honestly and thought about Bag End. It had been her home for some time, as long as her husband had lived. But it wasn´t anymore. 'The road has been my home in the past, I guess.'

'The road is for travel, not a destination.' Thorin told her. 'You made a really unexpected journey with your travel here, mistress Baggins.'

Billa smiled at the king and past the door to the royal wing which he held open for her. Thorins family quickly gathered around him as he had entered and he took his time to greet every one of them while Billa sat down on one of the benches and smiled at the family reunion. After a while Thorin joined her and sat down on the bench at her side. Billa shyly looked at him and then looked at his his wives and concubines.

'Don´t your wives ever get jealous?' Billa asked. Thorin was spending alot of time with her, although he had so many wives and concubines to attend to. Billa wondered why.

'Why should they be jealous?' Thorin smirked at the surprised hobbit. He took a closer look at her and his grin grew wider. 'You have problems with the size of my family? Or lets say the number of my wives?'

'A marriage is between one man and one woman, it should be sacred. A sacred bond only between themselves.' Billa stated firmly and hoped that Thorin would not condemn her for her opinion.

'Could you imagine my wives tearing each other apart over me?' Thorin made a noise that sounded like a deep chuckle to Billa. 'It is easier that way. And everyone is happy here.'

'Are you sure?' Billa dared asking. She thought of Tauriel in particular as she asked, for the other wives seemed to be happy, indeed.

Thorin looked at her in surprise. 'This may not be your way of living, mistress Baggins, but I have not forced one single one of my wives or concubines to come to my side or to stay at my side. If they were not happy, then they would not be here.' He took a deep breath and leaned closer to Billa. 'You think that my wives should love me? And I them?'

Billa had difficulties breathing with the king that near to her. She looked around nervously, but nobody seemed to look at them. Nodding, she looked back at the king.

'I will tell you a legend of my people, mistress Baggins.' the king sat back on the bench, making himself comfortable. 'In the Second Age, Durin I was reborn as Durin IV and was married to a dwarf from Ered Luin, Mora. He deeply loved his wife and she loved him. One day, the dwarves of Erebor went to war against the dwarves of the Iron Hills, who had been our enemies as long as history reaches back. The king of the Iron Hills, Gror, fought against Durin and wounded him badly. His wife, Mory, had followed her king into battle, in the armor of a normal soldier. As she saw Grors axe swing against her husband in a fatal blow she shielded Durin with her own body, saving his life, but losing hers. As the body of the queen fell to the ground her helmet fell off and Durin saw his wifes bloody face in the mudd at his feet. The battle was at an end. As Gror realised that he had killed Durins wife he ended all hostility and honorably retreated from the battlefield, giving Durin the space to mourn. Durin was never the same ever again. His wifes love had saved his life and the lives of many of his dwarves, but it had cost him his heart. He died a few years later, from a broken heart. Many dwarves say that the arkenstone, the heart of the mountain is in fact Durins heart, turned to ice. The love he felt for his wife shines upon us from the arkenstone today and never again has a king of the line of Durin married for love. At least not to our knowledge. Their love cost them all. Their lives and their hapiness.'

Billa listened to the legend and closed her eyes in defeat. The story troubled her deeply. King Thorins voice was sad and deep as he told her the story and Billa relived it as if she had been there. The knowledge that Thorin would never marry out of love broke her heart and she did not know why. Not yet.


	8. Chapter 8

In the morning, mist and darkness was still surrounding the Lonely Mountain. A dwarven army, a few hundred dwarves strong, marched towards the Iron Hills under the command of prince Frerin and the general of Thorins army, Dwalin. They marched out to attack the Iron Hills and to avenge the many dead on Erebors side. Shortly before they reached the Iron Hills they encountered a smaller troup of dwarves from the Iron Hills. The battle was short and bloody and the dwarves from the Iron Hills were defeated in no time. Dwalin let his army set camp and sat down beside Frerin with ale for them both.

'This was too easy.' Frerin was musing. 'They were only few and they were completely surprised to see us. They should have known that we would come and would avenge our people, why weren´t they prepared?'

'They have been too sure of themselves, it happens to all of us sometimes.' Dwalin frowned and gave the ale to the prince. 'Do not think about this, my prince, lets celebrate the conquer of our enemies.'

'I am no fool, Dwalin.' Frerin looked at the general with intelligent eyes. 'I have a sense for things that do not seem as they are.'

'Is that so?' Dwalin grew irritated. This was not going after the plan. 'And what does your sense tell you now?'

'That you are not drinking your ale.' Frerin had only voiced a suspicion, but as he saw Dwalins face he knew that he was right. This was a trap. A trap that would cost his life.

Suddenly the soldiers around him started to spasm in pain, holding their stomachs. The food and ale had been poisoned and the dwarves from the Lonely Mountain died within moments. All but Dwalins trusted ones, about two hundred soldiers. Frerin looked around and realised that he had fallen into a clever trap. There had never been attacks from the Iron Hills. Dwalin and his men had used the long history of hostility between the Iron Hills and Erebor to spur the leaders on and to provoke a war. A war which no side had actually started. They had attacked an innocent group of dwarves from the Iron Hills and now it would seem as if the Iron Hills had poisoned the army from Erebor. Frerin took a deep breath. There was only one thing that would lead his brother to declare a full scale war on the Iron Hills immediately. His death. Frerin closed his eyes in defeat.

King Thorin pinched the bridge of his nose. He had no choice, he had to declare war on the Iron Hills. This morning, the body of his brother Frerin had been found, along with the remains of the army he had set out with. They also found the bodies of some dwarves from the Iron Hills and it was obvious what had happened. Thorin knew that he had been forced into a dangerous position. Dale had an alliance with the Iron Hills and they would support their allies. Erebor would have to fight on two fronts.

Billa was completely taken by surprise by the turn of events. She had been for herself alot since the feast and the death of the princess and had not been up to date as far as the political situation was concerned. Cursing her ignorance, Billa sneaked out of the mountain to meet with lord Bard of Dale. He had been one of her supporters in the past and had supported Gandalfs idea of sending Billa to Erebor.

'This war should not happen, we have to do something!' Billa exclaimed and paced back and forth before lord Bard. 'This is not right!'

'I will stay at the side of my allies from the Iron Hills.' lord Bard stated grimly. 'They have done nothing to provoke this attacks. King Thorin has to take the consequences for this war onto his shoulders.'

'The Iron Hills were the ones who attacked the dwarves of Erebor first! King Thorin had no choice!' Billa was furious. This would end in fire and death.

'Lord Dain had nothing to do with this. He is King Thorins cousin. Why should he attack him?' lord Bard was ready to take up arms, but Billa would not let him.

'Of course he would never tell you that the Iron Hills attacked first, that would have cost him the alliance with you!' Billa looked at Bard in confusion. The lord was usually one who thought twice before he condemned someone. But not this time. 'You want Erebor, do you?'

Billa voiced her horrid suspicion and by the look on Bards face she had hit right into the bull´s eye. 'You raised your glass to him! You raised your glass to him, while all this time you only wanted his kingdom! All of this...sending me to Erebor and reaching out for peace - it was just a farce!'

'Mistress Baggins, you should not jump to conclusions.' lord Bard tried to save some of his dignity, but it was too late. 'This is a matter which concerns all of the people of the West.'

'I am a subject of the people of the west and I cannot believe that I have been used like this by my own people!' Billa exclaimed furiously.

'You should remind yourself of that, next time you dance cheek to cheek with the king.' Bard snarled and turned his back on Billa, leaving her speechless.

As Billa returned to her rooms at the side of the mountain she was surprised to see Balin standing on her balcony with a handful soldiers who had arrested Tauriel and a dark haired dwarf who seemed awfully familiar to Billa. Her whole garden was trampled flat, but Billa did not care, she needed to know what had happened.

'Master Balin, may you please tell me why you and these soldiers destroyed my garden and have their hands on miss Tauriel and...him? Who is he?' Billa knew that she had seen the dwarf somewhere already, but she could not remember where.

'Mistress Baggins, the kings concubine is under arrest for treason.' Balin informed her. 'She tried to flee with the help of this...dwarf.' he pointed at the young dwarf, who struggled in the guards grasp. He had climbed the outside wall of the mountain with the help of some strategically placed arrows and had tried to climb down with Tauriel as the guards had stopped them.

'Tauriel...' Billa felt betrayed by the she-elf, but as she saw the looks between the elf and the dwarf she understood. And she remembered where she had seen the dwarf before. He had always been there when Billa delivered her letters from Tauriel and he had been near her to drop the letters of Tauriels family into her basket. Thinking of it he seemed to be the one who had received and written the letters. Billa took a deep breath. She would try to speak to the king.

Tauriel and Kili were brought to king Thorin who sat in court, surrounded by his advisors and the council of Erebor. Treason was a high crime in Erebor, mostly punished by death and Billa feared for the life of the concubine and her love. King Thorin sat on his throne, his face a stony mask and he looked upon his former concubine and the other dwarf with an icy expression.

'Tauriel of Mirkwood and Kili or Erebor, you have been charged for treason against the king of Erebor and Erebor itself.' Balin declared the case and paced in front of the two arrested lovers. 'You, Tauriel of Mirkwood, have used the kings trust and dishonored his faith in you. He gave you more freedom than your rank deserved and let you stay with the tutor of his family, under the open sky and you paid him back with an attempt to flee this kingdom. A kingdom who has been offered you as a home, not a prison. You, Kili of Erebor, your intrusion of this mountain is a serious delict. You attacked the souverenity of this mountain and laid hands on one of the concubines of the king. Each deed alone brings the punishment of death.'

Tauriel and Kili kneeled before the throne, their heads lowered and their gaze to the ground. As Balin had finished, Tauriel lifted her gaze and spoke.

'My king, I know that I deceived your trust. But please now, that I never meant to dishonor you or your kingdom. I was sent to your side by order of king Thranduil of Mirkwood after my love, Kili of Erebor, asked the king for my hand. King Thranduil would not give me to a dwarf of too little importance in his eyes and sent me to you. I have been a loyal subject of Mirkwood and did what I was told, but my heart belongs to Kili. I could not breathe, I could not live on without my love at my side. I had to do what my heart asked from me. I beg for your forgiveness, o king, but I know that I have not deserved it.' Tauriel lowered her gaze again and closed her eyes as she felt the kings burning gaze on her face.

Thorin took a deep breath and sat back straight on his throne. He had been furious about the incident, but Tauriels words had touched something inside of him. He looked into the crowd gathered in the throne room and looked eyes with the hobbit. Her soft eyes bore into his and her pleading look made his stomach ache. He turned back to the arrested elf and dwarf and hesitated.

'Your majesty, if I may.' Billa stepped forward and started talking without permission, much to the dismay of the king and his council. The whole court listened while the hobbit made her plea. 'I have come here to speak for Tauriel and Kili. Though the laws of Erebor need to be respected, a punishment in form of a death sentence should be reconsidered. Erebor has struggled to converge to the people of the west and a punishment such as a death sentence would interfere with the diplomatical...'

'Shazara!' king Thorin shouted and glared daggers at the tutor of his family. 'Enough! This elf and this dwarf have commited an act of treason against my kingdom! They will be punished according to the laws of Erebor. No dwarf, not even myself stands over the law. I believe these were your words, mistress hobbit.'

Billa swallowed hard as Thorin stood up and towered her. She dared not say another word. The king was furious and the dwarves in the throne room waited for his answer.

'I, Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, king under the mountain banish you, Tauriel of Mirkwood and Kili of Erebor. You are never to set foot on dwarven land ever again. Non-compliance of this banishment will be sentenced with death.' Thorin spoke with a hard tone and looked at the elf and dwarf with an unreadable expression. 'You, mistress hobbit, will leave Erebor together with them. You have no place amongst us.'

Billas legs were threatened to give in underneath her as she heard the kings orders. The king had not sentenced Tauriel and Kili to death, but he had banished them from his kingdom and Billa from his heart.


	9. Chapter 9

Thorin watched the hobbit as her eyes grew wide and tears started to fall freely. As soon as her tears left her eyes, Billa lowered her head and curtseyed before the king. With a last glance at Tauriel and Kili, who were dragged out by the guards, Billa walked back to her rooms. The king straightened his back and sat down on the throne again, dismissing his court. _Curse that hobbit, why could she not for once keep her mouth shut._

Thorin had never wanted to punish Tauriel and Kili that severely. But Billas interference had challenged him openly and undermined his authority. His people were at the edge of war and he could not appear to be weak and open to the suggestions of a mere hobbit lass. The kings heart had ached as he had seen the hobbits expression. First one of shock, then one of utter sadness. He had ordered her to leave, for she had been disrespectful and incendiary once too much. He felt as if he had ripped out his own heart.

'We cannot leave! What about Fili and the rest of the kings family?' Frodo was shocked as his mother told him to pack. 'Don´t they matter anymore?'

'The king ordered me to leave, Frodo.' Billa told him, her voice dripping of sadness. 'He practically banished me together with Tauriel and Kili.'

'He only banished them, although Ereborian law punishes traitors by death.' Frodo muttered. 'Fili told me so. King Thorin saved their lives.'

Billa froze for a moment. Her son was right, Thorin had saved Tauriel and Kili from an even worse fate. Suddenly Billa realised that she had judged him too quickly. Worse, she had challenged him in court, for everyone to hear. Billa sighed deeply and scolded herself. Why had she spoken so rashly? King Thorin had no other choice but acting like he did. It was too late now. He had ordered her to leave and Billa would not go against his will again.

As Billa arrived at Erebors gates, she ran into Balin, who was not ready to let her go.

'You give up faster than I thought, mistress Baggins.' the old dwarf stated and cocked a scolding eyebrow at her. 'You always acted wisely and courageous and now when the king needs you, you leave.'

'King Thorin ordered me to leave, he sent me away.' Billa stated calmly and tried to ignore tha uproar in her heart.

'Since when do you follow the kings orders?' Balin challenged her and Billa hesitated. Balin was right. All of a sudden she remembered Balin first words.'

'Wait, what do you mean with: the king "needs me now"'? Billa asked.

'Prince Frerin has been killed by my brother Dwalin, we know that now. Dwalin has gathered an army of dwarves, some of Erebor, some of the Iron Hills. Their goal is to return to the way of life of the dwarves under King Thror, they despise Thorin reaching out for the West. Dwalin needs the arkenstone to support his goal. He will attack Erebor. Thorin has sent his army out to protect the borders, they will not make it back soon enough.' Balin informed Billa and heard her gasp.

When had all of that happened? Billa realised that she had been blind to the things happening around her. Erebor was practically defenseless with its army gone and with no support from its allies. Erebor had no allies, thanks to the intrigues of...apparently Dwalin and the dwarves loyal to him.

'What does lord Dain say about this?' Billa asked carefully. 'His own dwarves follow Dwalin and he stays behind?'

'Dain will do nothing. He will not attack Thorin himself, for he is his cousin. But he will also not call his dwarves back who follow Dwalin.' Balin sighed. 'The rise or fall of Erebor has never been of importance to him.'

'So it is only Dwalin marching against Erebor?' Billa thought aloud. The situation was worse enough. Because of an apparent threat of both Dale and the Iron Hills, Thorin had sent his army away to protect their borders and had to neglect the mountain itself. But Dale and the Iron Hills had no intention of attacking, yet.

'Bring me to the king.' Billas asked Balin. Frodo followed them with a relieved sigh. This was the mother he knew.

Thorin made last preparations to bring his family to safety. He had talked with a messenger from Mirkwood in the morning and the elf had assured him that Mirkwood would not support Dale, nor the Iron Hills. But king Thranduil would not lead his elves to battle for the dwarven kingdom of Erebor. Thorin stood on his own. He cursed the elves under his breath and was about to leave the throne room as the dwraves around him bowed deeply and only one person stood in the throne room, standing straight to face him. It was Billa, she had come back, ignoring his orders. As usual. A smile appeared on Thorins face. The hobbit gave him the strength he needed.

'Mistress Baggins, I was under the impression that you were leaving.' Thorin smirked as he looked at Balin. 'But I see that my oldest advisor brought you back instead of wishing you a safe journey.'

Balin tried to look innocent, but he failed miserably. Thorin had sent him to the gate to make sure that the hobbit left, but Balin knew that the king needed her. And she needed him, even if she was ignoring her heart.

'I was.' Billa answered quietly. 'But the wild is no place for a hobbit, especially in such times. If you allow it I seek refugee underneath your mountain and under your protection.'

Thorin looked at the hobbit he had learned to cherish in the last months. Cherish and love, he knew that now. But he also knew that she would never be his. They were too different. Besides the hobbit would never share him with his wives and concubines. But he would keep her safe, if that was the last thing he did.

'Follow me, mistress Baggins.' he asked her. 'I ordered my people to stay in their homes until the matter is dealt with. My family and I will try to reach Mirkwood. We need to leave Erebor. Every one of my children is a potential heir to the throne. Dwalin will kill them all when he gets his hands on them.'

Billa had not thought of this. The possibility that Thorins family would be slaughtered made her heart ache and she swore to herself that she would do everything in her power to prevent such a massaker. She followed the king silently and suddenly Thorin stopped in his tracks and turned towards her.

'When a hobbit who has much to say, says nothing, the silence can be deafening.' he smiled warmly at her.

'I do not know what to say.' Billa admitted.

'I have rendered our hobbit speechless.' Thorin looked amused. 'I shall remember this moment.'

Billa was about to say something, but her sons sniggering made her turn to him. Frodo seemed happy that they would stay, even if it meant a great amount of danger. He seemed to feel at home in Erebor. As they reached the royal wing, Thorins children gathered around their father and the king was swallowed in a wave of dwarflings. Billa and Frodo joined Dis and the others and prepared to leave. No soldiers accompanied them and the kings personal guard was the only protection Thorin could rely on. The kings guard were brothers, Dori, Nori and Ori. They were loyal to their king and stood by his side whenever he needed them. Billa knew that Dori was the oldest and that he tried to look out for his brothers, as well as his king. It was no easy job, for the kings guard was to protect the king with their own lives. The king had chosen his guard wisely. Dori was the responsible and most reliable of his guards. Nori was a sly fellow and he had his ways to get to information. Ori was the intelligent one, he spoke many languages and supported the king as a interpreter. They would follow Thorin wherever he went, on every journey. As would Billa.

King Thorin stood on the look out of Erebor, staring back at the mountain and then looked ahead to Mirkwood. It was a long journey to the realm of the elven king and a dangerous one at that. They had to pass Dale, but Thorin had chosen a route which made them pass the city of men as far away as possible. The king under the mountain took his entire family with, as well as the arkenstone and Billas ring. He could not part from either of the treasures. As the royal caravan had passed Dale, the king slowed down and walked beside the hobbit, who seemed to be lost in thoughts.

'What are you thinking about, my hobbit?' he asked quietly.

Billa looked at him in surprise. He had called her _his hobbit _, not mistress Baggins. A part of Billa was delighted, whereas the other part tried to stay sober. He could impossibly have meant it the wy she wished for.

'I was thinking about Tauriel and Kili.' Billa told the king and saw him nod. 'I was wondering where they were and how they are.'

'Wherever the are, they have each other.' Thorins stated simply. 'Tauriel and Kili touched us all and hopefully we will learn from our mistakes.'

Billa knew that Thorin included himself and also her in his statement and remained silent.

'Why did you come back?' the king asked and looked at the hobbit.

Billa needed a while to think about her answer. _I came back because of you. Because I love you. I need to be at your side, wether it is in life or death. Even though I know that I can´t do so forever. _

Billa chose her words carefully. She had to accept that her feelings for the dwarf king were more than respect and affection, even more than friendship. But telling him would only complicate it more.

'I came back because I could not imagine Erebor without you.' Billas answered honestly and her eyes got lost in the deep blue that were the kings eyes.

'Hail Thorin! Son of Thrain, son of Thror!' an old man clad in grey surprised the royal company as they were a day ahead of Mirkwood. It was Gandalf the Grey, an old friend of both Thorin and Billa. The hobbit was happy to see the wizard and his cart, but the dwarf king frowned.

'What are you doing here, Tharkun?' he asked. Thrakun was the dwarven name of the wizard.

'I am here to help.' Gandalf stated merrily and joined the company. 'I have been delayed by the eldest of my order, by Saruman, but now I am finally here.'

'It is too late now.' Thorin remarked and walked alongside the wizard for a moment. 'The Iron Hills and my general Dwalin lust after my throne. Our only chance is to seek refugee with the king of Mirkwood.'

'Are you sure that king Thranduil will help you?' Gandalf inquired. 'His loyalty lays with Dale and the kingdom of men.'

'He will not turn his back on my family, they are innocent.' Thorin tried to assure the wizard, although similar doubts had crossed his mind before. But Mirkwood was his familys only chance for survival. King Thranduil had to help them, or he would be their doom.


	10. Chapter 10

King Thranduil closed his gates and his heart before the dwarven king and his family. He gave the treatement of Tauriel as false pretence, although he could not care less about his former captain of the guards. Thranduil was close to the men of Dale and disliked Thorin because of a quarrel with his grandfather, Thror about two hundred years ago.

Billa was the only one who was granted an audience before the elven king and came back to Thorin hopeless and furious. Thranduil had offered protection to herself and Frodo, but Billa had stayed loyal to Thorin and had declined the offer. The dwarf king wanted to pull the hobbit into his arms for her loyalty to him, but instead he scolded her for not having accepted the offer from the elven king. He did not want to lose her, only because he had neglected all diplomatical bonds to the neighbouring kingdoms. Billa stood her ground against the king and smirked faintly as she saw the worried glance Thorin sent her way. She knew what he did, she had learned to see through his grumpy fassade and knew why he scolded her instead of just being grateful. She meant something to him and this thought alone warmed Billas heart.

'What now?' Billa asked the king.

'We need to keep moving, the Mirkwood is not safe. Too many spiders and other dangers.' Nori warned the king.

'Aye.' Thorin sighed. He had no clue where to go, but he had to make a decision. 'We leave for Gundabad. Maybe we will find shelter in the remains of the old dwarven cities there.'

The royal family marched north, without Gandalf. The wizard tried to persuade Thranduil to think over his alliance. The royal caravan moved fast, but the enemy gained on them. Dwalin and his dwarves moved fast and shortly before Thorin and his family crossed the narrow passageway into Gundabad they had blocked the road. Thorin knew that they could not make it to safety and glanced back at his family. He looked at his wives, his concubines and his children and he knew that he had to do everything in his power to guide them to safety. The dwarven city in Gundabad would guarantee their safety. The old palace opened to a codeword know only by the royal families of the dwarves. If Thorins family reached the palace they would be safe. Thorin would give his life to save his family.

'Fili.' Thorin would have to force his heir to grow up sooner than expected. 'Lead our family to Gundabad. You know the word to open the entrance to the palace. I will follow you when I have...settled things.'

Fili only looked at his father with the same unreadable expression Thorin often showed to his subjects. He knew what his father planned. A part of him wanted to talk him out of it, tell him that he needed his father, but the other part of him understood that it was Thorins responsibility to ensure their safe passage. Fili nodded and Thorin pulled his oldest son into his arms. After a while all of Thorins children joined the king and his oldest son in a big hug, the king praying to Mahal that it would not be the last time. Thorin made his way to his pony and was about to leave as someone called his name. As he turned around he saw Billa running towards him.

'What do you think you are doing?' the hobbits eyes were wide with fear. Fear for Thorin, her king. 'You can't just leave!'

'Dwalin will be distracted by my presence. A chance for my family to reach Gundabad. The only chance.' Thorin took Billas hands into his. 'Stay with them, please. I need to know that you are safe.'

'And you? I need to know that you are safe, too!' Billa exclaimed and gripped his hands.

Thorin softly moved his fingers over Billas cheek. Billa closed her eyes at his touch and leaned into his hand.

'Don't do this.' Billa whispered and grabbed his hand.

'I must do this.' Thorin looked at her once again, memorizing her face. Her honeybrown curls, her shining eyes, her small nose, her freckles. With a heavy heart Thorin turned away and mounted his pony. Billa gasped at the sudden loss of his hand and wrapped her arms around herself for comfort. Tears clouded her vision as she watched the king ride towards his doom.

'Please promise me that I will see you again!' Billa called out after him. Thorin pulled the ponies reigns and looked back at her with a loving expression. But he could not promise her anything.

Billa walked back to the caravan, which made ready to take a secret passage to Gundabad. They had to leave the carts behind, also Gandalfs cart with his firework. His firework. Billa stopped dead in her tracks as her brain started to work. She had already lost one husband, she would not lose Thorin.

Thorin rode towards Dwalin and his army of dwarves with his head held high. He had just gotten into visual range as he heard the sound of hoofs behind him. The brothers Ri had followed him and stood their ground at his side. The king had ordered them to stay behind, but they were loyal to him and had ignored his order. He would scold them afterwards. If he was still alive. If they were still alive.

Dwalin was already waiting for him. Thorin slowly rode towards him and looked upon his childhood friend. He stood there with his arms crossed in front of him and his axes strapped to his back. Thorin did not understand how it could have come to this.

'Why?' he asked as soon as Dwalin could hear him. 'You were my general, my friend.'

Dwalin snorted in disgust. 'I am no friend to a weak king. To a king who bows before the people of the West and listens to the words of a hobbit lass like a lovesick puppy. Give me the arkenstone, Thorin. I will rule Erebor as you have done before. Strong and in a dwarven way.'

The arkenstone. Now Thorin understood. It was now as Thorin realised that Dwalin had spent more time in the treasury since Thorin had concentrated in his negociations.

'He has the goldsickness.' Ori said aloud what Thorin was thinking. 'Thats why he betrayed us.'

Thorin sighed in relief. It was bad, very bad, but at least they had an explanation for Dwalins behaviour.

'You cannot have the arkenstone, but you can have me.' Thorin rode nearer to Dwalin. 'This is only between us, Dwalin. Fight me and the winner gets the arkenstone.'

Dwalin roared of laughter. 'I see what you are doing, king. You try to buy your family time to escape. I know you and I know that you offer your life to me to save your family. But everyone of your dwarflings is a potential threat to me. I cannot let them live. I will kill you first and then I will kill your family...and the hobbit.'

Thorin and his guards drew their weapons, but they were only four. Fours against a few hundred.

'You will die, Oakenshield. Here and now. The line of Durin will end here.' Dwalin smirked and suddenly a pale huge orc appeared behind Erebors former general.

Thorin closed his eyes in defeat. Azog, the Defiler, had killed his grandfather and had sworn to kill him, too. Dwalins betrayal went further than he had expected. He had allied himself with orcs.

Dwalin and Azog charged at the king of Erebor, but suddenly the world around them exploded.

A red dragon emerged from the hills behind Thorin and descended on Dwalins shocked dwarves. The dwarves fled and only a few dozen stayed with Dwalin. The general winced as he saw the dragon burning up in the air.

'Its just a firework! Stand your ground! Its just a firework!' Dwalin tried to call his dwarves back, but they had alredy fled in panic. Growling, Dwalin turned towards Thorin and roared in fury as he attacked the king. The Ri brothers charged the former general, the pale orc and the remaining dwarves, but they would succumb in number sooner or later. Thorin drew his sword Orcrist and swung it against the pale orc, while Ori and Dori fought Dwalin. Nori was about to charge at three attacking dwarves as two of the three were hit by arrows and fell to their knees, fataly wounded. Nori had no time to wonder about this and continued to fight. Arrow after arrow hit the remaining dwarves and soon only Azog and Dwalin were fighting. Ori managed to startle Dwalin with a well placed shot of his slingshot and Dori disarmed him, knocking him unconscious in the process. In the meantime, the pale orc had managed to wound Thorin and the king was about to lose the battle.

Three figures emerged from the forest behind the king of Erebor. Billa gasped in horror as she saw Thorin standing his ground against the huge white orc, bleeding from various wounds. Their eyes met and Billa could see the affection the king felt for her. It was more than affection and it warmed her heart. Thorins gaze drifted to the people standing at Billas side and his eyes widened in recognition. Tauriel and Kili stood at the hobbits side, their arrows drawn and pointing at Azog.

The king of Erebor wondered why these people had stayed loyal to him, then he realised that they were probably loyal to Billa and not to him. But he had not time to think about it. Azog charged at him with his warhammer and only missed him by a hand. The presence of the hobbit and the others gave him strength and the king felt new energy running through his body. Azog underestimated the wounded dwarf and attacked without shielding himself. Thorin spun around and beheaded the pale orc with one single blow. He saw the dead body fall to the ground before him and heard cheering behind him before his vision blurred and he collapsed to the ground. The last thing he heard was Billas horrified scream.

Thorin awoke a few moments later. Gandalf was standing above him and murmured something in a language unknown to him. The king of Erebor felt the pain lessen and managed to sit up. So the blasted wizard was back, but as usual he had missed all the action.

'The hobbit?' Thorin whispered hoarsely. He noticed a movement at his side and turned his head to face Bila. 'You did not obey me. Did you not say yourself that you would not survive in the wild? You came for me, although I ordered you to leave. I doubted that you would be able to stand your ground in battle. I have never been so wrong, in my entire life.'

Thorin was about to pull Billa close as Fili stepped forward, determined to protect his tutor from his fathers scolding. 'You put me in charge, father. Blame me.'

'I do, son. I do.' Thorin smirked. 'And I am very proud of you.'

The king smiled at his son lovingly. He was still smiling as Tauriel and Kili kneeled down before him, asking for his forgiveness.

'Stand up.' Thorin ordered them in an icy tone. 'You do not kneel before me. I should kneel before you. You have saved my life and the life of my family. Thank you.'

He nearly smiled again as he saw Kilis big eyes. He wondered how the young dwarves parents had ever resisted these puppy eyes. Probably not at all.

Thorin and the royal family returned to Erebor safely. Dwalin was arrested in the dungeons and waited for his trial. The goldsickness was fading and the general of the Ereborian army was plagued with guilt. Thorin feared that his old friend might never forgive himself for what he did under the influence of the golsickness. Balin spent alot of time with his younger brother and tried to comfort him. Thorin wanted to forgive his friend, but Dwalin had killed Frerin and many of Thorins soldiers. He had to be punished.

Billa returned to Erebor together with the dwarves. Tauriels and Kilis banishment was annulled and the two were free to begin their new life together under the mountain. They were offered a job in the archery wing of Thorins army.

Thorin walked down to the treasury to burry the arkenstone in a box under piles of gold, out of reach for everyone. The stone had almost cost him his kingdom and he would not put it back in its place over the throne again. If the dwarves trusted his rule, they would also do so without it. As Thorin reached inside of his coat pocket to pull out the arkenstone he felt that the stone was cold. Usually it was warm and pulsated. The king looked at the pale stone in his hand in astonishment. Its gleam was gone and it was not calling to him anymore. As he turned the stone in his hand, he could see that it had merged with a golden ring. Billas golden ring. Billas ring which she had not accepted back from him. The stone and the ring had become one. For some reason the ring had neutralised the stone. It was worthless now, the heart of the mountain had died. But Thorin did not need it anymore. The dwarves were the heart of this mountain. A long as his people were at home under the mountain the mountain would live.

Billa stood at the balcony of her wing in Erebor, while Frodo was away with Fili. The two boys had become close friends, almost like brothers and that complicated things. Billa knew that she could not stay in Erebor. She wanted to, but she could not. Thorin was married. He was married and she would not share him with his wives and concubines. Billa knew that he did not love any of the females. He was close to Dis, but their relationship was more one of sibblings. They loved each other, but not in the way a married couple loved each other. Nevertheless Billa could not stay. She loved Thorin, she knew that now. The thought of leaving him made her heart ache and trapped her breath in her throat. She could not stay, but at the same time she could not leave. Never before the hobbit had felt so lost.

Billa spun around as she heard steps behind her. She gasped as she saw king Thorin stand behind her, smiling at her warmly.

'You will leave.' the king stated with a quiet voice. There was no allegation in his voice, only sadness. As Billa nodded the king reached out for her. 'Then please grant me the honor of a last dance.'

Billa looked at his hand and took it with her own shaking one. The king pulled the hobbit in his arms and they began to move in a slow rythm, both remembering the music of their first dance together at the ball. Thorin took Billas hand and placed it over his heart.

'Until now, I did not understand the supposition that one dwarf could be satisfied with only one woman.' he murmured and looked down into Billas eyes, shining with affection and unshed tears. Billa could not help but gaze into the king´s blue eyes and for once, was at a loss of words.

At the door to the garden, Fili and Frodo were watching their parents.

Half a decade later, Fili, son of Thorin, son of Thrain, sat on the throne of Erebor. His father, Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, had embarked to Valinor. It was a great honor and most importantly he embarked on this journey with his One, Billa Baggins. Fifty years ago the hobbit had left the Lonely Mountain and had taken the kings heart with her. In exchange she had left her heart with him. Erebor had made huge progress after the hobbits influence. The diplomatic relations to other kingdoms stabilised Middle Earth and the dark power growing in the East had no chance of spreading. The Iron Hills and Erebor made a peace treaty and Dwalin spent the rest of his life in the service of both kingdoms. The combined army of dwarves secured the safety of the whole north of Middle Earth. The arkenstone had neutralised the power of Billas ring, the One ring, as well as the arkenstone had been neutralised by the ring. Frodo lived in the Shire and was in close contact with his old friend Fili, now king of Erebor. Fili married Tilda, the daughter of the lord of Dale and he stayed faithful to her and only her. No king after Thorin married more than one woman. Fili also put an end to slavery and the Lonely Mountain florished in newfound prosperity and the increasing amount of free dwarves. Fili often thought about his father. And also about the hobbit. The burglar who had stolen his fathers heart.

_I was only a boy, but the image of my father holding the woman he loved for the last time has remained with me during the years. Such meaningful moments, most over before they start, cast a light on the future and make the person who originated them unforgettable. Billa Baggins had shined such a light on Erebor. Brighter than the arkenstone ever could._

**_Author's note: I linked the arkenstone to the goldsickness, because it made more sense for my story, I hope thats ok! I had one review which said, that the love between Thorin and Billa was not very obvious. I tried to give this story a subtle romance, because Thorin was already married and Billa was still in mourning at the beginning of the story. They both experienced a love which had no chance while they were together, not under those circumstances. But the heart wants what it wants and in the end, they came together. I hope I could do both stories justice with my mix! _**

**_Plus I let the arkenstone and the One ring neutralise one another, you know AU ;)_**

**_Thank you all so much for the reviews, favs and follows!_**


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